Rob Manfred was elected baseball's 10th commissioner Thursday and will succeed Bud Selig in January.

A labor lawyer who has worked for Major League Baseball since 1998, Manfred beat out Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner in the first contested vote for a commissioner in 46 years. The third candidate, MLB executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan, withdrew just before the start of voting.

One baseball executive who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Manfred was elected on approximately the sixth ballot. The initial vote was 20-10 for Manfred, three short of the required three-quarters majority. After the number climbed to 23 over several votes, owners made a final unanimous vote.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Toronto President Paul Beeston spoke strongly against Manfred, the person said. Angels owner Arte Moreno joined Reinsdorf in leading Werner's support. Reinsdorf reportedly wanted a commissioner who would take a harsher stance in labor negotiations.

Manfred, 55, who grew up in Rome, N.Y. - about an hour's drive from the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown - has served as MLB's chief operating officer for the past year. Issues he must address include games that have become too lengthy and decreased interest among younger people.

"We have to figure out ways to make it relevant to that 12-year-old," Giants President Larry Baer said. "I have four children, and we want to make baseball as relevant as possible to them with their handheld and on television, and getting more people playing the sport. Those are all big challenges, and I think Rob sees all of those in his purview, and I think he's ready to attack."

Another point of contention is what Selig hasn't finished - getting a new ballpark for the A's, who recently extended their lease at the Coliseum. Selig formed a committee to examine the matter more than five years ago.

On the subject of the A's and Rays and other teams in the lower-rent district, Manfred said, "I believe competitive balance is the bedrock of the product we sell."

Manfred has been involved in baseball since 1987, starting as a lawyer with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius who assisted in collective bargaining. He became MLB's executive vice president for labor relations and human resources in 1998, received an expanded role of executive vice president of economics and league affairs in 2012 before taking on his current role in September.

"There is no doubt in my mind he has the temperament, the training, the experience," said Selig, who turned 80 last month and intends to retire in January after serving as commissioner longer than anyone outside of Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1920-44).